


black-blooded and silver-eyed gods

by hyugesoo



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Hibari Kyouya, Blood and Violence, But I Love Them, Canon-Typical Violence, Clouds, Codependency, Dark, Dying Will Flames (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), F/M, Flame Harmonization (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Flame Lore (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Gen, He needs a drink, Hibari Kyouya has a sister, Italian Mafia, Possessive Behavior, Sky Flames (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Triads, Unconventional Uses for Dying Will Flames, Violence, Worldbuilding, also, and just in case anyone gets shocked, and reborn just wants everything to make sense again, because, because canon didn't give our boy Hibari a backstory like the other guardians, bloodthirsty hibaris, everyone is triggerhappy whaddya expect, focused more on the Hibari clan, he's so done with everyone's shit, i guess i should tag that, kind of, not super focused on Tsuna, oh and, they are territorial pieces of shit, use mist flames to make your life better, when in doubt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:28:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyugesoo/pseuds/hyugesoo
Summary: In which Hibari Kyouya is not an only child; no, in this world, he has a younger sister with mercury gold eyes and a smile that’s as poisonous as it is inviting.This changes… a lot.
Relationships: Hibari Kyouya & Original Character(s), Hibari Kyouya & Original Female Character(s), Reborn/Being Done, Reborn/Liquor, Sawada Tsunayoshi & Vongola Tenth Generation Guardians, Sawada Tsunayoshi/Crying Over His Life, relationships will added as i go along
Comments: 24
Kudos: 273
Collections: oc self insertSI





	1. i. by fool's way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check the end for translations!

##  **i** **.**

There are many adjectives that people use to describe Reborn. 

The average mafioso mutter his name with half a curse and worship, like he is an omniscient vengeful god-being that will swoop in from the shadows and murder them in cold blood. His enemies and unfortunate targets (while they are still alive, of course) think of him as their personal grim reaper, just right before they leave this world with his infamous black abyssal eyes and smirk as the last thing they see. For his allies, they see him as a particularly terrifying final weapon, someone that enters wars with just his signature fedora and exits with blood and death trailing him like a cloak. The students he takes on, on the other hand, see him as a harsh, sadistic task-master that cares not for tears or pleas- just results that he beats into them until they are up to his high standards.

For Reborn himself, he’s self-aware enough to know that the most fitting way to describe himself is _prideful_. He’s spent decades, after all, cultivating his reputation, ensuring that everyone in the underworld knows of _Reborn, the World’s Greatest Hitman._

So when he takes on Sawada Tsunayoshi under his tutelage, it is with the mindset that the teen will become the best Vongola Don, or die trying.

Though to be fair, the boy isn’t that far off; even with just a few months of training, the so-called Dame-Tsuna has stopped tripping over his feet and failing miserably in his classes. He even defeated the Vindice escapees, and battled Rokudo Mukuro to a standstill. Sawada Tsunayoshi, a fluffy-haired civilian boy who shrieked at his own shadow, defeated that demon Mist hellbent on the eradication of the Mafia. Not to mention the uncanny way prospective guardians have been crawling out of the woodworks, sniffing his heels and plastering themselves to the teen who seems to have some sort of blinding charisma whenever he isn’t cowering over his lot in life. 

_Mio Dio_ , Sky attraction is such a cheat. All in all, Reborn isn’t completely dissatisfied with the boy, even if he does scream over every little thing in that annoying voice of his. So when his contacts tell him that the Iron Fort has been buzzing like headless chickens, and that the apprentice of that _cretino_ Iemitsu was spotted fleeing to Japan with a veritable army of Varia after him, Reborn is not happy.

And when Iemitsu himself calls and confirms that the half of the Vongola rings were stolen, that Xanxus was _free_ again and now the Varia was on a merry chase for the other half that was supposedly entrusted to his apprentice, and that the Ninth is _missing,_ Reborn is _definitely not happy_.

The irritation he feels is compounded ten times more when he runs his eyes over the small family that his charge has begun, and notices the holes in it. He’s been more focused on torturing the boy into becoming some semblance of a human with a backbone instead of scrambling to gather a full set of guardians.

After all, courting between elements and a sky is supposed to take time, to build bonds and foster trust and loyalty. Reborn was willing to give it some more time, especially since Clouds and Mists are notoriously hard to reel in. And he’s already been eyeing a prospective Sun, and he just knows that the Hibari boy is a strong Cloud, even if his flames feel… oddly muffled.

So the thought of the Ring Battles against the Varia, which would likely end in bloodshed, makes him want to burn everything in sight. Reborn has a _reputation_ , after all. He’s never failed an assignment yet, and letting his student face off the Varia’s well-oiled squad just to _die_ definitely counts as a failure.

Clicking his tongue, he ends the call with Iemitsu and orders his student and minions to where the strongest Cloud in Namimori is- the school. If the confrontation is really unavoidable, then he’ll equip his useless student with as much firepower as possible.

On the way, he gives the bumbling teens a rundown of the situation, bulldozing over every complaint and screech from his student with a kick or a hit with his Leon-hammer. The fake rings are in transit, a few hours from touching down in Japan, and the Varia are a couple of hours behind. Iemitsu and Dino will arrive sometime tomorrow, which leaves Reborn a precious handful of hours to convince or threaten the one Cloud strong enough in Namimori to become the guardian of a boy who flees at the sight of him.

_Cazzo madre di dio,_ he needs a drink.

When they finally make it to the Disciplinary Office, after half an hour of waiting for the Hibari to finally let them in, Reborn is just exhausted.

Without even bullying his student to take over and explain, he gives the Cloud a succinct summary, peppered with various animal analogies and promises of strong battles. While Reborn thinks that Tsuna isn’t completely hopeless, the boy is still keening softly in the corner in denial with his Storm worrying over him and his Rain laughing annoyingly.

He’ll cut the boy some slack for reverting back to his panicking; they both know that it’ll take a miracle to come out of this trial whole.

The Cloud merely watches him with those cold silver eyes of his, taking in the hasty lecture of flames and guardian bonds surprisingly well. It’s only when he brings up the idea of Hibari becoming Tsuna’s guardian that the boy reacts, with a light growl that makes Reborn tilt his fedora downwards to shadow his eyes at the expected reaction.

Clouds are solitary creatures who value independence and freedom, and to try and force a bond this quickly is just asking for the Cloud to balk and run. Or, in most classic clouds, go on a rampage against those who dared bring them to heel.

Still, he doesn’t have time to coddle the Cloud’s sensibilities, and is opening his mouth to say just that when the door slides open and a girl wearing the school uniform who looks remarkably similar to the Cloud steps in.

“Yuki,” Hibari growls, tonfas suddenly in hand as he half-rises in his seat and thick, murderous intent fills the room. For a second, Reborn thinks that the boy hates her- a relative, perhaps, considering their looks?- and is about to attack her when he notices that those silver eyes are glued to his small form.

And then he realizes that the anger in the boy isn’t towards the girl, but is directed straight at him in a protective rage. The girl is a weakness then, one that the Hibari boy has been hiding all this time from him since Reborn had no idea who she is. He’s studied the school register front to back and memorized the faces of the staff, has even staked out the town and patrolled the area, but he has never seen her in the past few months he’s been in Namimori.

A chill races down his spine at that, at the idea that a girl who looks so delicate can hide so thoroughly from him.

The killing intent suffusing the room is cut through with a soft laugh, the girl- _Yuki_ \- covering her mouth with a dainty hand in a mildly familiar move as she eyes his toddler form in amusement.

“Don’t worry, Reborn-san, it’s not you, it’s me,” she quips cheerily, giggling and tilting her head to let the _ajisai_ _kanzashi_ decorating her hair tinkle slightly in the suddenly quiet room. “The Mist flames concealing my presence from outsiders are simply extraordinary, don’t you think?”

Mist flames, which means that this girl knows of Dying Will Flames, and of the Mafia, from how she addressed him, which means that she knows enough about him or his reputation to know that he’s very meticulous with his jobs. Which also means that she somehow knows how to read his blank face and see that he’s frustrated with how he doesn’t know who she is.

Immediately he takes back his first impression of her delicateness and clocks her as _dangerous_ , especially when he observes how her steps are light and her movements graceful in a way that only trained assassins are. Now that he’s concentrating, he can feel the vaguely familiar soft indigo flames curling around her form and pulsing out from the kanzashi she wears in her hair.

He’s too professional to curse out loud or even show his displeasure, but the second Iemitsu arrives he’s going to wring the man’s neck. For crying out loud, his family has been living in this town for more than a decade; how can the man and his useless spies not notice that there’s something wrong with this town?

Granted, he didn’t notice her either, but Iemitsu is a Sky. He should have felt the unharmonized Mist element floating around in a small town.

A squeak draws her attention, and she smiles at the three boys still huddled in the corner. “Tsuna-kun, Takeshi-kun, hello. It’s been a while,” she trills, her voice eerily reminding him of bells.

His student squeaks again, his face so red like a bomb about to explode as he stutters incoherently. The Rain merely laughs, raising a hand in acknowledgment.

“Yo, Yuki-chan, how you’ve been?” he grins, leaning forward slightly.

Before she can reply, Hibari outright snarls, baring his teeth in fury. “Don’t address my sister so familiarly, useless herbivore.”

Well, that answers why the Hibari boy looks torn between killing every person here to keep his sister’s identity quiet to spiriting her away. _Dio cane_ , Reborn might be one of the Seven Strongest in the World, but even he would prefer not to go against a feral, territorial Cloud, especially when he is actively trying _not_ to kill the boy. And from the way his hands are still gripping his tonfa and the unholy light in his eyes, the Hibari boy is very, very close to _raging._

Silver-gold eyes merely light up in amusement at her brother’s remark, while Yamamoto laughs weakly and takes a step back at the overwhelming outrage on Hibari’s face. A smart instinct, one that apparently Gokudera doesn’t have, because the Storm guardian opens his mouth and sneers.

“What, I didn’t know that the monster prefect had a sister! And how dare you address the Juudaime so familiarly!”

One second Gokudera is standing by Tsuna, scowling, and the next he’s across the room flat on his back, the Hibari girl leaning over him with the pointed heel of her shoe digging into his gut and a pair of kama keeping the boy in place. The blade of the kama in her right hand is pressing lightly into the side of the Storm’s throat, drawing red beads of blood, while the other pair’s tip is poised carelessly above wide, shocked green eyes.

All the while, her pretty smile doesn’t waver.

“I don’t like my Onii-sama being insulted in front of me, Italian _dog_ ,” she laughs, eyeing the paleness in the boy’s face with thinly-veiled animosity. Suddenly, her relation to the Cloud is all too apparent. 

Definitely trained, with how she grips her weapons like they are extensions of her hands, and definitely dangerous, with how quickly she moved, Reborn notes, and his eyes flicker between the two Hibari while his mind races. His useless student needs a Cloud and a Mist, especially now with the Varia coming. And how... fortunate is it that there’s a sibling duo with exactly those flames?

He narrows his eyes slightly, feeling Leon shift on his fedora in response to his agitation. This feels like too much of a coincidence, too much of a good thing. Reborn hasn’t lived this long by banking on coincidences; more often than not, those things can lead to death.

When she leans forward as if to behead the frozen Storm, Tsuna and Yamamoto finally snap out of it and rush forward to protest, though they make sure not to actually touch the girl. Out of self-preservation, with her homicidal brother watching, or because they know just how dangerous the girl is?

Which makes Reborn question, just how does his dame student know the sister of the Demon Prefect, and to be on such good terms that they call each other by their first name? And why did he never mention the girl before?

“Y-yuki-san, ple-please don’t kill Hayato!”

“Maa, Yuki-san, can you forgive Haya-chan? He didn’t mean anything by it haha.”

Their words barely make her bat an eye, and Reborn is gearing up to disarm her himself because _cazzo_ , possible Mist guardian or not, they cannot lose the Storm guardian _now,_ idiot though he may be, when the other Hibari clicks his tongue in annoyance.

So suddenly it almost gives him whiplash, the girl withdraws her weapons at the sound and leans back, skipping to her brother’s side blithely. When she rounds the desk, the Cloud reaches out, quick as a flash, and drags her into his lap. From the way she doesn’t flinch, and the way Tsuna and Yamamoto don’t even react at the sight, it seems that this closeness is a common experience for the native Namimori citizens.

Now, Reborn has been eyeing the Hibari boy for months, ever since he felt the prospective Cloud flames in him, but he hasn’t seen her even once. If what he’s observing- this… _unusual_ closeness between siblings- is the norm, then she should have been near her brother these past few months as well. Which just makes his head throb at the thought that this Mist girl slipped right past his observations, just like that. _Tch_.

She must be stronger than Mukuro, at the very least, and might be able to go toe to toe against Mammon if she managed to fool _him_ of all people. Promising, but irritating nonetheless.

“You need not sully yourself by touching such trash, Yuki,” the Cloud harshly bites out, tightening his possessive grip around her waist and nosing into her hair, unforgiving mercury eyes glaring at the other occupants in the room. 

The girl merely giggles again and shifts in his lap to beam up at him. Pressing a light kiss to his cheek, she turns back to favor the Storm with a small frown even as her eyes shine with mirth.

“My Onii-sama isn’t a monster, _outsider_ ~” she warns mockingly, and Gokudera stares blankly at her while Tsuna shrieks as quietly as he dares at the shallow wound slowly soaking the Storm’s collar. Reborn knows the feeling, and he has a feeling that things will get even worse.

After all, if the Mist girl has been successfully hiding for months and evading his gaze, there must be a reason why she decided to make her presence known _now. Now,_ when he is trying to lure her brother to be a guardian.

If Reborn was a little less cynical, he would think that maybe it’s because she wanted to be a guardian too.

But from the way things have been going lately, he thinks that that’s probably not the case. Why would the universe make things easier for him, after all? _Che palle_ , he really is too old for this.

A smile, serene and beautiful, meets his gaze, unwavering even as his black eyes bore into hers.

“Now, my Onii-sama wished for me to stay hidden while you’re here, Reborn-san, but I heard from a little birdie that you guys are trying to recruit my Onii-sama,” she says, not reacting when the Hibari boy growls into her neck at the idea save for her smile widening. “I couldn’t let that stand, because I’m afraid my Onii-sama is spoken for. So you might want to search for another Cloud.”

And when she unleashes her flames, Reborn actually startles when instead of Mist flames, hauntingly bright, _possessive_ orange flames wreath around her and her brother. Behind him, the three boys freeze under the onslaught of powerful flames that saturates the room with their purity. Even without turning around, he knows that they must have gobsmacked expressions on their faces and he can’t even blame them, because _merda_ , those flames are so strong that he instinctively knows that this tiny slip of a girl can easily harmonize with _his_ Sun flames. _His,_ as in the _World’s Greatest Sun. Which means that this girl has to be one of the Strongest Skies in the World._

From where he’s nuzzling her neck, her brother grins nastily, his teeth flashing sharp against her jugular, matching the mischievous light in her silver-gold eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no words. Idk where this came from I'm sorry omg. I just had a burning need to make Kyouya into an older brother holy shit you guys I can't even explain. This is gonna be wild and mildly creepy let's goooo.
> 
> Okay, translations:  
> Mio dio (Italian): My god  
> Cretino (Italian): Idiot  
> Cazzo madre di dio (Italian): Fucking mother of god  
> Ajisai (Japanese): Hydrageneas; in its negative sense, this flower symbolizes heartlessness and frigidity.  
> Kanzashi (Japanese): Hair ornaments  
> Dio cane (Italian): Fucking god  
> Kama (Japanese): An Okinawan weapon that kinda looks like a sickle/scythe. It was used for cutting up crops back in the day, but it's also a weapon for ninjas. The kama can be used singly or in pairs. Both the point and sharpened edge of the metal blade are called into use; the Okinawan kata suggests that it could also be used to block, trap, and disarm an opponent's weapon. The point at which the blade and handle join in the "weapon" model normally has a nook with which a staff can be trapped.  
> Cazzo (Italian): Fuck  
> Che palle (Italian): What a pain  
> Merda (Italian): Shit
> 
> Okay, now that's out of the way, prepare for a longgg ride. We're taking this bitch all the way guys haha. The next chapter is the origin story of Yuki because I don't know how to write linearly LOL. Till next time!


	2. ii - v. nothing of your kind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations at the end again!

##  **i** **i.**

Hibari Kyouya was born first; he had a whole year as an only child to soak up the attention and affections of his parents. Still, he was born a Hibari, and the Hibari were well-known throughout East Asia for churning out brutal, bordering on prodigious children who could hit before they could walk. The Hibari were deadly, and all the more beautiful because of it with their silver eyes and sculpted Japanese features.

But because Hibari Kyouya was born first, that meant that his parents had enough time to instill the Hibari way in the infant’s mind. After all, if the Hibari had no code, they would have died out quickly from infighting. Strength begets strength, and the Hibari have always searched far and wide for worthy opponents. And for quite a long time, the only people who could match up to the Hibari clan’s unique bloodthirstiness and power were their own family.

So generations and generations of Hibari fought against brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers- kin spilled kin’s blood. After a while, the Hibari matriarch at the time had put her foot down, and fashioned a code from the ichor and violence that spanned decades; fighting is a worthwhile purpose, but Family must be held above all. And from then on, a Hibari who turns away from their own or who killed one of them was forever banished, stripped of their name, and beaten down in the dirt like scum.

Kyouya was taught this, as he grew from infant to toddler, and when his sister was born, he did not see a contender to his reign. He saw someone that would be _his_ -

heart, body, and soul.

Because while Kyouya was born a Hibari, he was also a Cloud, and he was doubly possessive. A one-year-old Kyouya leaned against his mother, peering into the bundle in her arms, and vowed to protect his sister until his dying breath.

At the age of one, Hibari Kyouya found his home.

##  **iii**.

Hibari Yuki was born in February, with the last vestiges of snow clinging to the ground. She was a tiny thing, with silver pale eyes and rosy cheeks. Kyouya hovered over her, unwilling to let her out of his sight. When their parents questioned this, he merely replied that while Yuki was a Hibari, she was too small and had yet to grow into her fangs so he would watch over her.

And when Yuki grew enough to walk and babble, it surprised no one that she followed her brother with persistent ease. It grew to the point that their parents allowed her to sleep next to her brother, especially with how Kyouya flashed his teeth at them in warning for trying to separate the two.

It was baffling for the parents, because while they had taken measures to ensure that Kyouya won’t be set on a warpath against the family, they didn’t expect their little skylark to take so quickly to his sister. Already, at the tender age of four, Kyouya had been categorizing people into neat little boxes of carnivores and herbivores. Needless to say, everyone aside from the Hibari family was a herbivore. _Especially_ if they couldn’t hold their own against a four-year-old.

And while Yuki was undoubtedly a Hibari, Kyouya didn’t even need to fight her to immediately warm up to her. Not like how he had done with his parents and the extended family that had dropped by sporadically to meet the two heirs of the Hibari clan.

Everything became clear during Yuki’s third birthday, when they checked her latent flames.

Because for the first time in almost a century, the Hibari had birthed a Sky.

##  **iv.**

Fon was known by many names. Eye of the Storm, for his unnatural calmness even with how his red flames rage and roar under the confines of his skin. Enforcer of the Triads, for how he kept the peace between the different, warring groups that spanned Asia. Storm Arcobaleno, for the pacifier that hung around his neck like a collar and the small body he was imprisoned in.

Hibari, for his clan that all but casted him out when he stopped visiting, stopped answering their politely worded letters filled with barbs and insults to his intelligence for falling into a trap. He had been too ashamed, too frustrated with himself to return to the clan in his diminished form that he had abandoned them.

The only reason he was not stripped of his name and banished by his family was because he was the Strongest Storm in the world, and because they had heard the rumors about his appearance. And even if the Hibari were one of the most ruthless clans out there, let it not be said that they do not care deeply for their own. They may not pity him, because they believe not in coddling, but they will not outright wipe him out from the clan fully. Because they _understood_ , not pitied. Understood why he could not return, not in this form.

Still, the Hibari are prideful, so they will not approach him until he comes back to them, groveling for forgiveness for forsaking the clan. Something that grates on his very nerves, something that he can never envision himself doing, so they remain in a tense stalemate.

So when he receives a message, commanding him to return to the ancestral clan home, with just a hint of desperation and plea, his blood turns to ice.

The Hibari will never bow, never lower themselves to _beg_ . It is against their nature, so for the first time since the start of his curse, his hands shake at the thought of something happening that is so _wrong_ it made the Head of the Hibari clan beseech his presence.

Without further thought for his pride or his toddler body, he flies to Namimori. His thoughts are haunted by death threats, of his niece and nephew being held for ransom or blackmail, of his family falling one by one. Why else would they ask him to come home, spurned as he is? After all, Fon is very much aware of his strength, of his reputation, as one of the Strongest Seven. And more than anything, he is still a Hibari. 

Family will _always_ come first.

And when he comes home after thirty years and is met with the silver-gold eyes of Hibari Yuki, his breath rushes out of him like a punch to the gut.

##  **v.**

The Hibari have always leant towards the more destructive side of Dying Will Flames. Storm and Cloud have circled through generations, passed on from mother to babe. There have been occasional Mists and Lightnings here and there, with a rare Rain and an even rarer Sun.

But a Sky, a Sky was the rarest of all. The last Sky had perished, was hunted down by greedy men who wanted the prestige of owning a Hibari Sky. The Hibari at that time had been too sure of themselves, too overconfident. They walked tall amongst others, never seeing the need to hide and _run._

But even a Hibari cannot withstand a horde. At first they had sent half a dozen men, easily slaughtered, to lower the Sky’s guard. And then a dozen. And then two dozen, three dozen, four, five, six. All expendable, all cannon fodder, all to wear the Hibari Sky down until he could no longer fight and resist as the greedy men came to rake in the spoils.

It was a bloodbath.

But there is something to be said about the Hibari clan; they will _never_ bow, _never_ submit. So with his dying breath, the lone Hibari Sky, amidst the dead bodies of his guardians and comrades and _family,_ amidst the corpses of his enemies, chose freedom.

And when the rest of the family arrived at the scene, the Sky was already gone, his body cooling from where he had sliced his throat open rather than be chained.

After that incident a century ago, the clan has been careful with their young. Always checking their children’s flames, even if some of them would never activate them. It was better safe than sorry, even if they haven’t had a Sky in so long.

The thought of their youngest, their precious Yuki, as a Sky makes her parents cry bitter tears. Any other family would rejoice, would celebrate the birth of a child with flames synonymous to _royalty_ , but to her, it would be akin to a death sentence. The Hibari are strong, but they are scattered across the globe and there are only three adults living in the ancestral home.

Hibari Eiji, the patriarch and head of the clan, Hibari Masato, his brother and chief of police in Namimori, and Hibari Rui, wife of the patriarch and one of the best assassins in the Triads.

Three against whoever comes and tries to steal their precious snow princess.

They rage and rage; Masato roars like a dragon, demolishing the dojo and scorching the tatami mats and shoji walls with purple flames. Rui clutches her daughter close, blades held in her hands and teeth as she croons nonsense to her child in worry. Eiji paces, green searing his vision as he tightens security and closes the estate, setting traps and ordering his people to create diversions in the Triads and Yakuza to divert attention from his family.

Kyouya, young, angry Kyouya, picks up on their mood and bristles, eyes darting to glare at the windows and doors of their house. He plasters himself to his sister, nearly shaking with rage at the slightest implication of danger to Yuki, and the three adults let him be, because more people protecting their youngest is not unwanted.

But they are just three adults and a baby Cloud, and the story of the Hibari Sky’s fate is still ringing in their ears.

Even the people who work under them, their subordinates, cannot be trusted. Not with this, not with Yuki’s life and freedom. Only a Hibari can protect a Hibari, after all.

So without further prompting, they ignore the pride in their veins and Eiji commands their strongest to come home.

“Cousin,” Eiji greets, watching how the Strongest Storm’s face pales as he stares at Yuki. They had heard whispers of course, had even seen blurred snapshots of Fon’s current appearance, but it was still a shock to see how that once tall man had shrunk into a toddler’s form. Still, even with that revolting pacifier around his neck, Eiji can still sense the strength in his cousin’s short limbs, and relaxes for the first time since they realized that Yuki was a Sky.

Once again, he is ever so grateful for the Hibari paranoia that made him keep Yuki indoors since her birth. Even if she hasn’t activated her flames yet, hasn’t even manifested them, he shudders to think of what could have happened if they took her to the park and someone realized just what flames she held within.

Fon startles out of his staring, and his eyes are so very wide as he stares up at him. “How is this possible?” he whispers, his famed calm nowhere in sight. “You’re a Lightning, and Rui is a Rain,” he says dazedly, gaze flicking between him and Yuki, who’s wrinkling her nose in confusion. Kyouya, sweet, territorial, _vicious_ Kyouya, is being held back by Rui at the side as he sneers at Fon for daring to even look at his beloved sister. He had already tried to attack Fon once the man had entered the house, and was still smarting from how easily he was beaten by someone he thinks is a toddler.

Eiji sighs, gesturing his daughter to come closer and sits her on his lap to face Fon. They all ignore Kyouya’s snarls, aside from the warning glare Eiji sends his son. His cursed cousin stumbles forward, his usual grace lacking, and places baby-small hands on Yuki’s cheeks as he focuses on her latent flames.

While predicting the flames of children is usually an unreliable affair, especially when they have yet to activate, there is a way to know their primary flames with accuracy once the child turns three. It only works with a family as in tune with their spiritual essence as the Hibari are, as they train from infanthood. 

Three, after all, is a powerful number, the trinity of being- as the Hibari clan trains the _mind, body,_ and _soul-_ and with three years of existence, their flames become clear.

Other flame-actives might not be able to tell what flames Yuki and Kyouya hold, not while they are still latent, but there are signs if one is observant enough to notice.

The way Kyouya savagely defends his sister and his independence, ruthless and efficient- a Cloud through and through protecting his territory and self. The way Yuki barely blinks at her family’s idiosyncrasies, accepting them all without thought and smiling so warmly even when Rui comes home dripping with blood from a hit or when Masato teaches her how to escape handcuffs and zipties. Or when Eiji holds her close, burying his face in her silky hair whenever the weight of his sins come close to crushing him.

A Sky that is accepting, warm, and pure.

From the look on Fon’s face, he can feel her potential vividly, the hint of orange that swirls in her silver eyes and that fire under her flesh that warms whenever they touch her.

“A sky…,” he breathes heavily, drawing back and hiding the fine trembling of his hands in the sleeves of his red changshan. “I see now why you demanded I come home, Cousin.”

Yuki squirms in place, prompting another snarl from her brother, and blinks at the Arcobaleno in front of her.

“Who is he, Otou-sama?” the three-year-old asks, tilting her head and reaching out to hook her fingers around his braid. In a fit of indulgence, Fon stays still and allows her to play with his long hair, eyes growing soft at the girl who touches him without a thought.

It has been… a long time since anyone has touched him without the intention to kill. Not that they succeed, or even come close to, but it does make his shoulders sag at the weight of loneliness. 

“He is your Uncle, Yuki, Kyouya. Treat him with respect. He is older and stronger than me,” Eiji says simply, finally silencing the growls of the feral little Cloud in the corner.

“Uncle?” Kyouya repeats, staring dubiously at his little form with so much suspicion that it prompts an amused smile on Fon’s face and a sigh from Rui and Eiji.

Yuki glances once at her brother, before suddenly leaning forward to tumble off her father’s lap and toddling up to the man. “Uncle?” she asks softly, eyes focused unerringly on his face. She’s young enough to be able to look him in the eye without stooping down, and Fon’s smile softens even more.

Obligingly, he allows her to wrap her short arms around him, inhaling the sweet scent of milk and _ajisai_ from her hair. She seems fragile, tender, heartbreakingly small. If he wished, he could snap her in two within the space of a breath, but the thought makes him balk.

Even with just her latent flames, he’s already being affected by Sky attraction. Already, he knows that he will do whatever he can to keep her safe, knows that he’d rather die than let her be used by the Triads or Mafia or Yakuza. And maybe, just maybe, his flames are singing in excitement, brushing against Yuki’s undeveloped core, murmuring, _she could be ours, she could be our Sky, she could accept us, give us a home-_

Pulling back to look her in the face, he dips his head in acknowledgment of his niece’s and nephew’s question and smiles. His eyes flick upwards, to his cousin and his wife, and spies the tentative hope blooming in their eyes.

“Do not fear, Cousin, I will stay to train my niece and nephew. As for Yuki… I’ll contact an acquaintance about an object to hide her flames from flame-active’s senses. It will be pricey, but I can vouch for the quality.”

A soft sob escapes Rui’s lips, her arms instinctively wrapping around Kyouya in relief. Kyouya stills, gritting his teeth but not fighting the confines of his mother’s embrace as he tries to understand their conversation.

Eiji bows his head, before lifting it and smiling in pure gratitude as he sets a light hand on the crown of Yuki’s head.

“Thank you, Cousin. We will pay any amount and do any deed to keep our children safe.”

Apparently, that is what breaks Kyouya’s patience, because he growls and leaps forward to pull Yuki away from the adults, kid-sized tonfa appearing in his hands. “Who is after Yuki, Carnivores? I’ll bite them to death!” he snarls, hiding his sister behind his small body.

Fon blinks, before hiding another amused smile with his sleeve as the parents sigh at the outburst. “Oh dear, he’s very territorial, isn’t he? Such strong Cloud flames within this one,” he observes mirthfully.

His cousin’s wife sighs, rubbing a hand across her eyes in exasperation. “Yes, ever since Yuki was born, Kyouya’s instincts have been going haywire.” Her hand drops and she sends a chastising look at her son, before her lips quirk up in reluctant amusement. “It’s a miracle he’s sat this long without trying to bash someone’s head in.”

“Indeed,” Fon says, eyes shining with laughter, and finally the tense atmosphere that had been cloying in the Hibari home since Yuki’s birthday dissipates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations/Explanations:  
> Yuki: literally means snow, or happiness, or snow princess. But I like the meaning of the individual kanji that make up her name, which are 優, superiority, and 綺, beautiful or gorgeous. I think that fits with the ~aesthetic~ that I'm going for here. A Hibari Sky, so like a bloodthirsty, pretty, happy girl haha.  
> Eiji: eternity order. The kanji I picked out for his name are 衛, protect, and 司, preside over, and those just describe Papa Hibari lots. I made him into a Lightning, because he is a defender.  
> Masato: righteous person. Since he's a Cloud, the kanji in his name are 将, lead, and 士, samurai, which honestly works out since he's Chief of Police and he's a very formal/traditional person.  
> Rui: affectionate. She's not a blooded Hibari, because she married into the clan, but she's as ruthless and bloodthirsty as the rest of them so she fits in well. Her name has weird kanji, with 琉, which is a character to be used in lapis lazuli (琉璃), and 意, intent. Fun fact: lapis lazuli is in the shade of a deep blue, and it's said to represent gods and royalty, and spirit and wisdom. This shade is the exact shade I pictured Rui's flames to be, because she's a Rain and even if she doesn't have a cool lineage like the Hibari clan, she's still badass and pretty smart. How else can she corral the Hibari men? ^^  
> Three: so I picked this age because in Chinese numerology, it's both an auspicious and inauspicious number. The number 3 (三) sounds like 生 (shēng), which means "to live" or "life", but it also sounds like 散 (sàn) which means "to split" or "to separate" or "to part ways" or "to break up with". By looking into their children's soul once they turn three, they can "see" the lives or the resolve of their kids by checking their flames. But by being able to check their children's flames, that generates a sort of crossroad for the family. They usually base the children's training and basically what to do with the kid once they know what their flames might be. Not in a dictator kind of way, because it's really hard to dictate a Hibari's life, but more like how they are deciding what to do with Yuki and how to best protect her.  
> Changsan: traditional Chinese dress (or robe, long jacket or tunic) worn by men.
> 
> So, I wanted to write some parts in Yuki's perspective, but ultimately decided to put that in the next chapter. Here, there's just some backstory of the clan and some bird's eye view of what's happening during Yuki's toddler years. Next chapter is more in-depth POVs, so till next time!


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